A California school district promises to discipline three high school students who filmed themselves singing the chorus to a racist song that featured the N-word.
Community leaders called for the disciplinary action to be swift and the racial slur to be eradicated.
The short viral clip captures white teen girls from Valencia High School and West Ranch High School driving around a parking lot belting into a microphone a song featuring a derogatory vamp, “I don’t like n***as.”
School district officials say they became aware of the video on or around March 12, and are taking actions to discipline the students — and address the community’s outrage regarding the racist act, reports The Los Angeles Times.
The district’s superintendent Mike Kuhlman condemned the vile footage, saying his administration will be taking “strong, proactive steps to send the message that this type of blatant racism.”
In a statement to the public, he wrote, “The Hart District will not condone this type of hate speech, and we have taken proactive steps to ensure that it is our intention to promote an equitable, safe, and inclusive environment for all of our students.”
District officials have launched an investigation into the video.
Teachers, school personnel, parents, and students were alerted via email. Some were also interviewed regarding the disturbing video. Local police were also contacted regarding the video’s social media fingerprint.
“Disciplinary action has already been taken, and we will follow up to ensure that the individuals involved understand the harmful impact of their actions on other students, on families, on our district, and in our community,” Kuhlman said on Wednesday, March 15.
Community stakeholders were outraged by the derogatory video.
Valerie Bradford, the president of the Santa Clarita chapter of the NAACP, held a news conference to address the incidents.
“Last week, three students thought it prudent to disrespect and inflict lasting pain on an entire group. They chose to film themselves laughing and smiling and singing the N-word and stating that they hate N-word,” Bradford said, according to ABC 7.
She condemned the girls’ behavior, saying that by posting the video on social media “for thousands to see,” they hoped for the hate speech to go viral.
“Their actions, of course, spread like wildfire, and the African-American students on the campus once again felt fearful and alone and singled out,” Bradford explained.
Some of the most strident voices protesting the video and what it says about the school environment they attend were from Black students.
One student who spoke at the NAACP news conference said this is not new for students of African descent.
“The recent events regarding the video of students committing a blatant hate speech has brought to the stage the story of racism that all Black students in this valley have been facing ever since they’ve been going to school,” the student remarked.
Other students vowed to make a difference and use their agency to fight for change, even as they feel violated by the action of their classmates.
“I am no longer accepting things I cannot change. I am changing the things I cannot accept,” said Antonia Esi, president of the Black Student Union at Valencia High School, quoting Angela Davis, a civil rights leader and academic.
“The act of violence against Black people inflicted by these girls in these videos are one of the things I cannot accept,” she continued, sharing that as she walked through the campus hallways during school hours, she heard “the voices in this video echoing from phones to mouths” and asserted that in itself “is an act of violence we cannot accept either.”
In 2019, teacher Kimberly Forbes filed a civil suit against Valencia High, the district, and administrators. Among many claims, she alleged she and her students had been harassed because of the color of their skin, the Signal SCV reports.
The lawsuit claimed “several Black female students” confided in the teacher about a white male student grabbing “buttocks and breasts,” forcing them to watch porn and calling them “monkeys” and “chimps.”
The boy allegedly said he would “f—- her while wearing a Confederate flag to make my family proud.”
Forbes claims after reporting the allegation, she was retaliated against by her supervisors.
School board member Cherise Moore said many in the community, particularly students, were not shocked by the recent video.
She was told by “many” the N-word is frequently used on the campus, making her declare the board has “a lot of work to do.”
“We need to have continued training that lets us take a deep look at some of the issues around racism that people are sometimes too uncomfortable to have,” Moore said.
Parents were not shocked by the use of the N-word, believing no one should have a license to say the explosive slur.
“That word is derogatory to any race. It is a word that should not be used ever again,” one parent said.
Another parent said the reason the racial epithet should not be used is that, for many, it is a “weapon.”
In the comment section of one post where the video is shared, people blasted those who co-signed the footage. Others mocked the girls, saying colleges will never accept them, career opportunities will likely vanish, and believed the joke would ruin their future.
Others believed the girls would get a pass based on their white privilege.
This is not the first time the school has had a social media scandal regarding the use of the N-word in a video. In 2016, several white Valencia High School students shouted the slur in a video posted on Twitter.
Like the recent offense, the school swiftly condemned the language.
